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VR Headset Brings New Dimensions to Gaming

TechNewsDaily contributor Robert Workman reports on the Oculus Rift, a new headset that provides a look at what virtual reality (VR) technology could become. While still in the prototype stage (and funded with more than $2.4 million from a Kickstarter campaign), the headset allows its user to become fully immersed in a three-dimensional gaming environment. It also permits actual interaction: "You can turn your head and peer around the video game world, and the perspective within the game keeps up with your movements." In the past, this was done with a kind of joystick; the Oculus Rift has it built in.

What's the Big Idea?

During the demonstration, Workman and his team used the device with an upcoming remake of "Doom 3: BFG Edition"; other games are supposed to be available when the Rift is released. In general, the product received favorable reviews except in one category: the ability to keep one's stomach steady while using it. "Some people complained of motion sickness while road-testing the device, and we felt a couple moments of disorientation after taking it off. But that just shows how much this device really draws you into its game experience, and there's literally nothing like it."